diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/health/ClusterHealthRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/health/ClusterHealthRequest.java
index f373689566f..42bf3054935 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/health/ClusterHealthRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/cluster/health/ClusterHealthRequest.java
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ public class ClusterHealthRequest extends MasterNodeReadOperationRequest<Cluster
     }
 
     public ClusterHealthRequest timeout(String timeout) {
-        return this.timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null));
+        return this.timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null, "ClusterHealthRequest.timeout"));
     }
 
     public ClusterHealthStatus waitForStatus() {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/delete/DeleteIndexRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/delete/DeleteIndexRequest.java
index c52fc57e653..0f2b62a9445 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/delete/DeleteIndexRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/delete/DeleteIndexRequest.java
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ public class DeleteIndexRequest extends MasterNodeOperationRequest<DeleteIndexRe
      * to <tt>10s</tt>.
      */
     public DeleteIndexRequest timeout(String timeout) {
-        return timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null));
+        return timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null, "DeleteIndexRequest.timeout"));
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkRequest.java
index 617c3fc32bd..87671155c87 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/bulk/BulkRequest.java
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ public class BulkRequest extends ActionRequest<BulkRequest> implements Composite
                             timestamp = parser.text();
                         } else if ("_ttl".equals(currentFieldName) || "ttl".equals(currentFieldName)) {
                             if (parser.currentToken() == XContentParser.Token.VALUE_STRING) {
-                                ttl = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(parser.text(), null).millis();
+                                ttl = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(parser.text(), null, currentFieldName).millis();
                             } else {
                                 ttl = parser.longValue();
                             }
@@ -417,7 +417,7 @@ public class BulkRequest extends ActionRequest<BulkRequest> implements Composite
      * A timeout to wait if the index operation can't be performed immediately. Defaults to <tt>1m</tt>.
      */
     public final BulkRequest timeout(String timeout) {
-        return timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null));
+        return timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null, "BulkRequest.timeout"));
     }
 
     public TimeValue timeout() {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchRequest.java
index 8e1da31affa..860167d4e19 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchRequest.java
@@ -476,7 +476,7 @@ public class SearchRequest extends ActionRequest<SearchRequest> implements Indic
      * If set, will enable scrolling of the search request for the specified timeout.
      */
     public SearchRequest scroll(String keepAlive) {
-        return scroll(new Scroll(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(keepAlive, null)));
+        return scroll(new Scroll(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(keepAlive, null, "SearchRequest.Scroll.keepAlive")));
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchScrollRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchScrollRequest.java
index 8f6e093856f..dd34d2c6926 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchScrollRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/search/SearchScrollRequest.java
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ public class SearchScrollRequest extends ActionRequest<SearchScrollRequest> {
      * If set, will enable scrolling of the search request for the specified timeout.
      */
     public SearchScrollRequest scroll(String keepAlive) {
-        return scroll(new Scroll(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(keepAlive, null)));
+        return scroll(new Scroll(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(keepAlive, null, "SearchScrollRequest.keepAlive")));
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/AdapterActionFuture.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/AdapterActionFuture.java
index e1da5ee41f5..c41e7656c5c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/AdapterActionFuture.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/AdapterActionFuture.java
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ public abstract class AdapterActionFuture<T, L> extends BaseFuture<T> implements
 
     @Override
     public T actionGet(String timeout) {
-        return actionGet(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null));
+        return actionGet(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null, "AdapterActionFuture.actionGet.timeout"));
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/AcknowledgedRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/AcknowledgedRequest.java
index ea3a1e43bff..2ce420bcc0b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/AcknowledgedRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/AcknowledgedRequest.java
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ public abstract class AcknowledgedRequest<T extends MasterNodeOperationRequest>
      */
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     public final T timeout(String timeout) {
-        this.timeout = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, this.timeout);
+        this.timeout = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, this.timeout, "AcknowledgedRequest.timeout");
         return (T)this;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/MasterNodeOperationRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/MasterNodeOperationRequest.java
index e1e90e932ff..900ec7d5aa8 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/MasterNodeOperationRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/MasterNodeOperationRequest.java
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ public abstract class MasterNodeOperationRequest<T extends MasterNodeOperationRe
      * A timeout value in case the master has not been discovered yet or disconnected.
      */
     public final T masterNodeTimeout(String timeout) {
-        return masterNodeTimeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null));
+        return masterNodeTimeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null, "MasterNodeOperationRequest.masterNodeTimeout"));
     }
 
     public final TimeValue masterNodeTimeout() {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/nodes/NodesOperationRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/nodes/NodesOperationRequest.java
index 113e03f1f3c..8cef26db241 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/nodes/NodesOperationRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/nodes/NodesOperationRequest.java
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ public abstract class NodesOperationRequest<T extends NodesOperationRequest> ext
 
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     public final T timeout(String timeout) {
-        this.timeout = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null);
+        this.timeout = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null, "NodesOperationRequest.timeout");
         return (T) this;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/ShardReplicationOperationRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/ShardReplicationOperationRequest.java
index 0d9730c246a..f4e2b1a6f10 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/ShardReplicationOperationRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/replication/ShardReplicationOperationRequest.java
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ public abstract class ShardReplicationOperationRequest<T extends ShardReplicatio
      * A timeout to wait if the index operation can't be performed immediately. Defaults to <tt>1m</tt>.
      */
     public final T timeout(String timeout) {
-        return timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null));
+        return timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null, "ShardReplicatoinOperationRequest.timeout"));
     }
 
     public TimeValue timeout() {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/single/instance/InstanceShardOperationRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/single/instance/InstanceShardOperationRequest.java
index 80de5a59b62..032bf4a07e9 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/single/instance/InstanceShardOperationRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/single/instance/InstanceShardOperationRequest.java
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ public abstract class InstanceShardOperationRequest<T extends InstanceShardOpera
      * A timeout to wait if the index operation can't be performed immediately. Defaults to <tt>1m</tt>.
      */
     public final T timeout(String timeout) {
-        return timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null));
+        return timeout(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null, "InstanceShardOperationRequest.timeout"));
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/update/UpdateHelper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/update/UpdateHelper.java
index ef8144fc095..c101df8135c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/update/UpdateHelper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/update/UpdateHelper.java
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ public class UpdateHelper extends AbstractComponent {
             if (fetchedTTL instanceof Number) {
                 ttl = ((Number) fetchedTTL).longValue();
             } else {
-                ttl = TimeValue.parseTimeValue((String) fetchedTTL, null).millis();
+                ttl = TimeValue.parseTimeValue((String) fetchedTTL, null, "_ttl").millis();
             }
         }
         return ttl;
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/settings/Validator.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/settings/Validator.java
index 92c1427a160..ec3e8ea7129 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/settings/Validator.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/settings/Validator.java
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ public interface Validator {
         @Override
         public String validate(String setting, String value) {
             try {
-                if (TimeValue.parseTimeValue(value, null) == null) {
+                if (TimeValue.parseTimeValue(value, null, setting) == null) {
                     return "cannot parse value [" + value + "] as time";
                 }
             } catch (ElasticsearchParseException ex) {
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ public interface Validator {
         @Override
         public String validate(String setting, String value) {
             try {
-                TimeValue timeValue = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(value, null);
+                TimeValue timeValue = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(value, null, setting);
                 if (timeValue == null) {
                     return "cannot parse value [" + value + "] as time";
                 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/settings/ImmutableSettings.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/settings/ImmutableSettings.java
index 8738d30e774..0a7e9e14329 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/settings/ImmutableSettings.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/settings/ImmutableSettings.java
@@ -357,12 +357,19 @@ public class ImmutableSettings implements Settings {
 
     @Override
     public TimeValue getAsTime(String setting, TimeValue defaultValue) {
-        return parseTimeValue(get(setting), defaultValue);
+        return parseTimeValue(get(setting), defaultValue, setting);
     }
 
     @Override
     public TimeValue getAsTime(String[] settings, TimeValue defaultValue) {
-        return parseTimeValue(get(settings), defaultValue);
+        // NOTE: duplicated from get(String[]) so we can pass which setting name was actually used to parseTimeValue:
+        for (String setting : settings) {
+            String retVal = get(setting);
+            if (retVal != null) {
+                parseTimeValue(get(settings), defaultValue, setting);
+            }
+        }
+        return defaultValue;
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/Fuzziness.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/Fuzziness.java
index a4ac1fda851..30b959d25b6 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/Fuzziness.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/Fuzziness.java
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ public final class Fuzziness implements ToXContent {
         if (this == AUTO) {
             return TimeValue.timeValueMillis(1);
         } else {
-            return TimeValue.parseTimeValue(fuzziness.toString(), null);
+            return TimeValue.parseTimeValue(fuzziness.toString(), null, "fuzziness");
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/TimeValue.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/TimeValue.java
index a7037b4e90c..3883e021cc1 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/TimeValue.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/TimeValue.java
@@ -31,11 +31,9 @@ import org.joda.time.format.PeriodFormatter;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 
-/**
- *
- */
 public class TimeValue implements Serializable, Streamable {
 
     /** How many nano-seconds in one milli-second */
@@ -228,7 +226,8 @@ public class TimeValue implements Serializable, Streamable {
         return Strings.format1Decimals(value, suffix);
     }
 
-    public static TimeValue parseTimeValue(String sValue, TimeValue defaultValue) {
+    public static TimeValue parseTimeValue(String sValue, TimeValue defaultValue, String settingName) {
+        settingName = Objects.requireNonNull(settingName);
         if (sValue == null) {
             return defaultValue;
         }
@@ -248,8 +247,15 @@ public class TimeValue implements Serializable, Streamable {
                 millis = (long) (Double.parseDouble(sValue.substring(0, sValue.length() - 1)) * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
             } else if (sValue.endsWith("w")) {
                 millis = (long) (Double.parseDouble(sValue.substring(0, sValue.length() - 1)) * 7 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000);
+            } else if (sValue.equals("-1")) {
+                // Allow this special value to be unit-less:
+                millis = -1;
+            } else if (sValue.equals("0")) {
+                // Allow this special value to be unit-less:
+                millis = 0;
             } else {
-                millis = Long.parseLong(sValue);
+                // Missing units:
+                throw new ElasticsearchParseException("Failed to parse setting [" + settingName + "] with value [" + sValue + "] as a time value: unit is missing or unrecognized");
             }
             return new TimeValue(millis, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
         } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/support/XContentMapValues.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/support/XContentMapValues.java
index 3a69f911fa0..b85e999a2f2 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/support/XContentMapValues.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/common/xcontent/support/XContentMapValues.java
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ public class XContentMapValues {
         if (node instanceof Number) {
             return TimeValue.timeValueMillis(((Number) node).longValue());
         }
-        return TimeValue.parseTimeValue(node.toString(), null);
+        return TimeValue.parseTimeValue(node.toString(), null, "XContentMapValues.nodeTimeValue");
     }
 
     public static Map<String, Object> nodeMapValue(Object node, String desc) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TTLFieldMapper.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TTLFieldMapper.java
index 8e817ddd903..278a7f5cd65 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TTLFieldMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/mapper/internal/TTLFieldMapper.java
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ public class TTLFieldMapper extends LongFieldMapper implements RootMapper {
         if (context.sourceToParse().ttl() < 0) { // no ttl has been provided externally
             long ttl;
             if (context.parser().currentToken() == XContentParser.Token.VALUE_STRING) {
-                ttl = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(context.parser().text(), null).millis();
+                ttl = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(context.parser().text(), null, "ttl").millis();
             } else {
                 ttl = context.parser().longValue(coerce.value());
             }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/functionscore/DecayFunctionParser.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/functionscore/DecayFunctionParser.java
index 375920a7fb0..c96f2b89737 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/functionscore/DecayFunctionParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/index/query/functionscore/DecayFunctionParser.java
@@ -269,9 +269,9 @@ public abstract class DecayFunctionParser implements ScoreFunctionParser {
         if (scaleString == null) {
             throw new ElasticsearchParseException(DecayFunctionBuilder.SCALE + " must be set for date fields.");
         }
-        TimeValue val = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(scaleString, TimeValue.timeValueHours(24));
+        TimeValue val = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(scaleString, TimeValue.timeValueHours(24), "DecayFunctionParser.scale");
         double scale = val.getMillis();
-        val = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(offsetString, TimeValue.timeValueHours(24));
+        val = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(offsetString, TimeValue.timeValueHours(24), "DecayFunctionParser.offset");
         double offset = val.getMillis();
         IndexNumericFieldData numericFieldData = parseContext.getForField(dateFieldMapper);
         return new NumericFieldDataScoreFunction(origin, scale, decay, offset, getDecayFunction(), numericFieldData, mode);
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/plugins/PluginManager.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/plugins/PluginManager.java
index cee8fde738e..a48a7c4845e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/plugins/PluginManager.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/plugins/PluginManager.java
@@ -408,7 +408,7 @@ public class PluginManager {
                     case "timeout":
                     case "-timeout":
                         String timeoutValue = getCommandValue(args, ++c, "--timeout");
-                        timeout = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeoutValue, DEFAULT_TIMEOUT);
+                        timeout = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeoutValue, DEFAULT_TIMEOUT, command);
                         break;
                     case "-l":
                     case "--list":
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/RestRequest.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/RestRequest.java
index 113bfabe4ff..4ccb1a6161f 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/RestRequest.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/RestRequest.java
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ public abstract class RestRequest extends ContextAndHeaderHolder implements ToXC
     }
 
     public TimeValue paramAsTime(String key, TimeValue defaultValue) {
-        return parseTimeValue(param(key), defaultValue);
+        return parseTimeValue(param(key), defaultValue, key);
     }
 
     public ByteSizeValue paramAsSize(String key, ByteSizeValue defaultValue) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/admin/cluster/node/hotthreads/RestNodesHotThreadsAction.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/admin/cluster/node/hotthreads/RestNodesHotThreadsAction.java
index 7c8a970d92c..5e374079e37 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/admin/cluster/node/hotthreads/RestNodesHotThreadsAction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/admin/cluster/node/hotthreads/RestNodesHotThreadsAction.java
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ public class RestNodesHotThreadsAction extends BaseRestHandler {
         nodesHotThreadsRequest.threads(request.paramAsInt("threads", nodesHotThreadsRequest.threads()));
         nodesHotThreadsRequest.ignoreIdleThreads(request.paramAsBoolean("ignore_idle_threads", nodesHotThreadsRequest.ignoreIdleThreads()));
         nodesHotThreadsRequest.type(request.param("type", nodesHotThreadsRequest.type()));
-        nodesHotThreadsRequest.interval(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(request.param("interval"), nodesHotThreadsRequest.interval()));
+        nodesHotThreadsRequest.interval(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(request.param("interval"), nodesHotThreadsRequest.interval(), "interval"));
         nodesHotThreadsRequest.snapshots(request.paramAsInt("snapshots", nodesHotThreadsRequest.snapshots()));
         client.admin().cluster().nodesHotThreads(nodesHotThreadsRequest, new RestResponseListener<NodesHotThreadsResponse>(channel) {
             @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/search/RestSearchAction.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/search/RestSearchAction.java
index 0d06031a92e..4aa8b292bc0 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/search/RestSearchAction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/search/RestSearchAction.java
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ public class RestSearchAction extends BaseRestHandler {
 
         String scroll = request.param("scroll");
         if (scroll != null) {
-            searchRequest.scroll(new Scroll(parseTimeValue(scroll, null)));
+            searchRequest.scroll(new Scroll(parseTimeValue(scroll, null, "scroll")));
         }
 
         searchRequest.types(Strings.splitStringByCommaToArray(request.param("type")));
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/search/RestSearchScrollAction.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/search/RestSearchScrollAction.java
index c53331bb496..6fb72931804 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/search/RestSearchScrollAction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/rest/action/search/RestSearchScrollAction.java
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ public class RestSearchScrollAction extends BaseRestHandler {
         searchScrollRequest.scrollId(scrollId);
         String scroll = request.param("scroll");
         if (scroll != null) {
-            searchScrollRequest.scroll(new Scroll(parseTimeValue(scroll, null)));
+            searchScrollRequest.scroll(new Scroll(parseTimeValue(scroll, null, "scroll")));
         }
 
         if (RestActions.hasBodyContent(request)) {
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ public class RestSearchScrollAction extends BaseRestHandler {
                     } else if ("scroll_id".equals(currentFieldName) && token == XContentParser.Token.VALUE_STRING) {
                         searchScrollRequest.scrollId(parser.text());
                     } else if ("scroll".equals(currentFieldName) && token == XContentParser.Token.VALUE_STRING) {
-                        searchScrollRequest.scroll(new Scroll(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(parser.text(), null)));
+                        searchScrollRequest.scroll(new Scroll(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(parser.text(), null, "scroll")));
                     } else {
                         throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown parameter [" + currentFieldName + "] in request body or parameter is of the wrong type[" + token + "] ");
                     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/bucket/histogram/DateHistogramParser.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/bucket/histogram/DateHistogramParser.java
index aaae94dfe1a..e85bdd1a9c8 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/bucket/histogram/DateHistogramParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/bucket/histogram/DateHistogramParser.java
@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ public class DateHistogramParser implements Aggregator.Parser {
             tzRoundingBuilder = TimeZoneRounding.builder(dateTimeUnit);
         } else {
             // the interval is a time value?
-            tzRoundingBuilder = TimeZoneRounding.builder(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(interval, null));
+            tzRoundingBuilder = TimeZoneRounding.builder(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(interval, null, "DateHistogramParser.interval"));
         }
 
         Rounding rounding = tzRoundingBuilder
@@ -217,9 +217,9 @@ public class DateHistogramParser implements Aggregator.Parser {
 
     private long parseOffset(String offset) throws IOException {
         if (offset.charAt(0) == '-') {
-            return -TimeValue.parseTimeValue(offset.substring(1), null).millis();
+            return -TimeValue.parseTimeValue(offset.substring(1), null, "DateHistogramParser.parseOffset").millis();
         }
         int beginIndex = offset.charAt(0) == '+' ? 1 : 0;
-        return TimeValue.parseTimeValue(offset.substring(beginIndex), null).millis();
+        return TimeValue.parseTimeValue(offset.substring(beginIndex), null, "DateHistogramParser.parseOffset").millis();
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/derivative/DerivativeParser.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/derivative/DerivativeParser.java
index 27da830c3b9..46b10162033 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/derivative/DerivativeParser.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/aggregations/pipeline/derivative/DerivativeParser.java
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ public class DerivativeParser implements PipelineAggregator.Parser {
             if (dateTimeUnit != null) {
                 xAxisUnits = dateTimeUnit.field().getDurationField().getUnitMillis();
             } else {
-                TimeValue timeValue = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(units, null);
+                TimeValue timeValue = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(units, null, "DerivativeParser.units");
                 if (timeValue != null) {
                     xAxisUnits = timeValue.getMillis();
                 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/builder/SearchSourceBuilder.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/builder/SearchSourceBuilder.java
index 57dfe4a362b..9cd3be11b1c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/builder/SearchSourceBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/builder/SearchSourceBuilder.java
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@ public class SearchSourceBuilder extends ToXContentToBytes {
      * An optional timeout to control how long search is allowed to take.
      */
     public SearchSourceBuilder timeout(String timeout) {
-        this.timeoutInMillis = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null).millis();
+        this.timeoutInMillis = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(timeout, null, "SearchSourceBuilder.timeout").millis();
         return this;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/query/TimeoutParseElement.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/query/TimeoutParseElement.java
index d5b04206c4b..d57f5362a25 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/query/TimeoutParseElement.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/search/query/TimeoutParseElement.java
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ public class TimeoutParseElement implements SearchParseElement {
         if (token == XContentParser.Token.VALUE_NUMBER) {
             context.timeoutInMillis(parser.longValue());
         } else {
-            context.timeoutInMillis(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(parser.text(), null).millis());
+            context.timeoutInMillis(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(parser.text(), null, "timeout").millis());
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/FuzzinessTests.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/FuzzinessTests.java
index e5999c69baf..e09827d9fc8 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/FuzzinessTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/common/unit/FuzzinessTests.java
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ public class FuzzinessTests extends ElasticsearchTestCase {
                 assertThat(parser.nextToken(), equalTo(XContentParser.Token.FIELD_NAME));
                 assertThat(parser.nextToken(), equalTo(XContentParser.Token.VALUE_STRING));
                 Fuzziness parse = Fuzziness.parse(parser);
-                assertThat(parse.asTimeValue(), equalTo(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(actual, null)));
+                assertThat(parse.asTimeValue(), equalTo(TimeValue.parseTimeValue(actual, null, "fuzziness")));
                 assertThat(parser.nextToken(), equalTo(XContentParser.Token.END_OBJECT));
             }
         }
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ public class FuzzinessTests extends ElasticsearchTestCase {
         assertThat(Fuzziness.AUTO.asDouble(), equalTo(1d));
         assertThat(Fuzziness.AUTO.asLong(), equalTo(1l));
         assertThat(Fuzziness.AUTO.asShort(), equalTo((short) 1));
-        assertThat(Fuzziness.AUTO.asTimeValue(), equalTo(TimeValue.parseTimeValue("1", TimeValue.timeValueMillis(1))));
+        assertThat(Fuzziness.AUTO.asTimeValue(), equalTo(TimeValue.parseTimeValue("1", TimeValue.timeValueMillis(1), "fuzziness")));
 
     }
 
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/scroll/SearchScrollTests.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/scroll/SearchScrollTests.java
index 21dd1f3a1f8..538ea0516dc 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/scroll/SearchScrollTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/search/scroll/SearchScrollTests.java
@@ -499,7 +499,7 @@ public class SearchScrollTests extends ElasticsearchIntegrationTest {
         RestSearchScrollAction.buildFromContent(content, searchScrollRequest);
 
         assertThat(searchScrollRequest.scrollId(), equalTo("SCROLL_ID"));
-        assertThat(searchScrollRequest.scroll().keepAlive(), equalTo(TimeValue.parseTimeValue("1m", null)));
+        assertThat(searchScrollRequest.scroll().keepAlive(), equalTo(TimeValue.parseTimeValue("1m", null, "scroll")));
     }
 
     @Test
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/stresstest/get/GetStressTest.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/stresstest/get/GetStressTest.java
index 3e4c269a4c0..8fb23a72a9a 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/stresstest/get/GetStressTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/stresstest/get/GetStressTest.java
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public class GetStressTest {
 
         final int NUMBER_OF_NODES = 2;
         final int NUMBER_OF_THREADS = 50;
-        final TimeValue TEST_TIME = TimeValue.parseTimeValue("10m", null);
+        final TimeValue TEST_TIME = TimeValue.parseTimeValue("10m", null, "TEST_TIME");
 
         Node[] nodes = new Node[NUMBER_OF_NODES];
         for (int i = 0; i < nodes.length; i++) {
@@ -94,4 +94,4 @@ public class GetStressTest {
         System.out.println("test done.");
         done.set(true);
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/AbstractSimpleTransportTests.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/AbstractSimpleTransportTests.java
index 09bdd79c70a..85bc97d2f1a 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/AbstractSimpleTransportTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/transport/AbstractSimpleTransportTests.java
@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@ public abstract class AbstractSimpleTransportTests extends ElasticsearchTestCase
         serviceA.registerRequestHandler("sayHelloTimeoutDelayedResponse", StringMessageRequest.class, ThreadPool.Names.GENERIC, new TransportRequestHandler<StringMessageRequest>() {
             @Override
             public void messageReceived(StringMessageRequest request, TransportChannel channel) {
-                TimeValue sleep = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(request.message, null);
+                TimeValue sleep = TimeValue.parseTimeValue(request.message, null, "sleep");
                 try {
                     Thread.sleep(sleep.millis());
                 } catch (InterruptedException e) {